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| DEMO REELS HELP DESK |
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Demo reels and music copyrights...
 Q: Paul Gunson, Animator, Numberworks Ltd. asks:
I've been working as an animator for almost a couple of years now, and am creating some new content for a showreel.
A lot of student animators I see just rip-off soundFX and music from commercial CDs or videos; basically wherever they can get it. For something like a showreel which is non-profit but is used for promoting yourself to eventually earn money is it standard practice in the industry (and is it legal) to do this? I've been working in software design not broadcast or film so I could really use some advice on this. Any info appreciated.
Paul Gunson
*Disclaimer* : The following answers should not be used in place of professional legal advice. Anyone interested in music and copyright related issues should consult a lawyer.
A: Rod Caszatt writes:
Here's what I know about using someone else's music or sound effects:
It's best not to use pre-recorded music or SFX from records, CDs or cassettes. These tracks are protected by ASCAP and BMI. If caught using unauthorized tracks one can get nailed by a pretty hearty fine ($5,000 and up).
If a person is going to use this type of pre-recorded material then it's best to a least give some sort of on-screen credit to the artist and composer. It shows good intention doing so. And if approached by ASCAP or BMI one can always say they didn't realize they weren't supposed to use pre-recorded music without permission.
Additionally, written permission isn't cheap. It's not only about getting permission but it's also about paying a lawyer to help with that process
Some companies looking at job reels might be put off a little at someone using recognizable music with images. Unless that's understood up front it looks rather unprofessional. But, that also depends a lot upon the way some companies hire - it may not matter to some.
If a person is in the process of putting together a job reel, or show reel, the best legal way to add music or sound effects is by paying for what's called a "needle drop". This is a one time charge (average $50.00) for the use of some professionally done music from a library or an SFX track. That way there's no doubt about who owns the rights.
There is no real strict enforcement of music and SFX copyrights. But if someone gets caught it ain't cheap! I hope that may help.
Rod Caszatt
A: Anonymous writes:
Unless the music is in the public domain already, SOMEONE out there owns the copyright to the underlying song and the reproduction and performance rights to the recording of the song. With a few (limited) exceptions, use of the recording would violate both the composer's (or whomever s/he assigned the rights to) copyright, and the repro and performance rights of the musicians, UNLESS you get their permission.
To get permission, you need a license (can be as simple as a permission letter from the right parties - or can be more complex, depending on who you are dealing with, and how you will use the music). This permission might be free, or it might cost you some $$ (again, this depends on who you are dealing with, who you are, and how you are using the music).
There are some exceptions in the copyright law which allow for limited use without a license, chiefly under a doctrine called "FAIR USE". This doctrine exists to allow for quoting otherwise copyrighted works, for example, in reviews, scholarly articles, incidental references in books, movies, etc. What constitutes "fair use" is the subject of much debate among lawyers. The decision rests on several factors, like the amount of copied materials, the extent of useage of the materials, the context of the useage of the material, etc. There is no exact "bright line" test which will tell you "this is [or isn't] fair use." It's more a "I'll know it when I see it" kind of thing by people familiar with determining such things (e.g., lawyers, people in publishing, or other media people who deal with using clips, sound bites, quotes, etc. all the time).
Despite all of that, there's a practical side to this, as well. It costs a certain amount to litigate a claim of copyright infringement. If the useage is brief and the distribution minimal, and the money at stake not high, and the actual or potential loss of revenue to the musician or his/her publisher and the composer isn't great, then there's not much chance - even if you copy a song to accompany a demo reel without permission - that anyone will come after you to try to stop you. If they do, you will most likely first get a "cease and desist" letter (i.e, "stop using that song or we'll sue you"), so you'll have a chance to stop using the music before it costs you anything.
I am not in any way saying that such use without advance permission is legal, recommended, etc. That's for you to determine, and if you are worried about the risk, consult an attorney familiar with intellectual property issues. But by assessing the above factors, you can make a pretty good guess what you might do, and how safe you might be in doing it.
The whole question of "fair use" comes up all the time in relation to digital sampling of music and sounds, much of which is done without getting advance permission from the publisher, musicians or composer of the original recording. There's a band called Negativland which got sued by U2's label for sampling some of U2's work without permission (even though U2 frequently samples other people's work without permission in its concerts). See http://www.negativland.com/intprop.html for more info and lots of links to other fair use info.
Bottom line - any copying is illegal, unless you 1) have permission from the owner of the rights, 2) fall into one of the narrowly defined exceptions. Despite this, if no-one knows about the copying, and there's no $$ at stake, then the likelihood of getting popped for the illegal use is low and you decide for yourself whether you want to run the risk.
But if you have more than a hypothetical interest in this subject, consult an attorney of your choosing, and definitely don't consider this message legal advice....
Hope this helps...
Anonymous |
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